The present invention relates to imaging devices and, more particularly, to high-dynamic-range imaging systems.
Image sensors are commonly used in electronic devices such as cellular telephones, cameras, and computers to capture images. In a typical arrangement, an electronic device is provided with an image sensor having an array of image pixels and a corresponding lens. In certain applications, it may be desirable to capture high-dynamic-range images. While highlight and shadow detail may be lost using a conventional image sensor, highlight and shadow detail may be retained using image sensors with high-dynamic-range imaging capabilities.
Common high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging systems use an interleaved exposure image capture method. In the interleaved exposure method, interleaved images are captured having rows of long-exposure image pixel values are interleaved with rows of short-exposure image pixel values. HDR imaging systems are often used for capturing video data such as high definition videos (e.g., 1080p video). When generating video data using conventional interleaved exposure HDR imaging systems, image processing circuitry in the imaging system can consume excessive processing resources and excessive power in order to continuously output frames of high definition HDR video data.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved systems and methods for interleaved high-dynamic-range imaging.